Google’s new streaming initiative lets you play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in your browser

Google has unveiled Project Stream, a new streaming initiative designed to enable users to experience complex content – including demanding video games such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – via their Chrome web browser.

“Streaming media has transformed the way we consume music and video, making it easy to instantly access your favorite content,” Google explained in a new blog post, “It’s a technically complex process that has come a long way in a few short years, but the next technical frontier for streaming will be much more demanding than video.”

Google calls Project Stream “a technical test to solve some of the biggest challenges of streaming”, and says its initial goal is to “push the limits with one of the most demanding applications for streaming-a blockbuster video game.”

The obvious challenge, notes Google, is that “When streaming TV or movies, consumers are comfortable with a few seconds of buffering at the start, but streaming high-quality games requires latency measured in milliseconds, with no graphic degradation.”

To test its new technology, a “limited number” of participants will be able to play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in their web browsers from this Friday, October 5th. Interested parties can apply via the Project Stream website, but there are a number of stipulations: currently, Project Stream is only open to residents of the US, applicants must be 17 years or older, and have a home internet connections capable of 25 megabits per second.

Hopefully, it won’t be long before a wider range of participants can get involved.